Marin father sues yacht owner over daughter's death in Farallones accident

The father of a Larkspur woman killed in a sailboat accident near the Farallon Islands in April has sued the owner of the yacht for wrongful death, and for the pain and distress his daughter suffered as she drowned.

Corey Busch, a former San Francisco Giants executive, filed the lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court this week against James Bradford of Chicago, owner of the yacht Low Speed Chase.

Bradford was one of three survivors in a racing accident that claimed the lives of Alexis Busch, 26 and four other crew members after a pair of massive waves swept them overboard April 14 during the Full Crew Farallones Race.

Also killed were Jordan Fromm, 25, of Kentfield; Alan Cahill, 36, of Tiburon; Marc Kasanin, 46, of Belvedere and Elmer Morrissey, 32, a visiting researcher from Ireland. The two other survivors were Bryan Chong, 38, of Tiburon and Nick Vos, 26, of Sonoma, who was Busch's longtime boyfriend.

The lawsuit by Cory Busch says Cahill, who was the vessel's captain hired by Bradford, "cut corners" when he sailed into a dangerous area that other boats avoided during the race around the Farallon Islands.

That decision led to waves flipping the boat and killing Busch and the others, the suit claims.

The crash was one of the worst yacht racing accidents in the Bay Area in decades and marked the only fatalities in the history of the annual race that was first held in 1907.

Similar to the lawsuit, a report by a national governing body for sailing concluded the April 14 crash was the result of the boat's path through a shallow stretch of water near the islands. The July 31 probe from US Sailing says experts believe the decision on the boat's course was not made "with an understanding of the risks."

Low Speed Chase was one of 49 boats that left the San Francisco Bay to make the journey around the uninhabited islands that sit about 27 miles west of San Francisco, the report says. As the Chase started to round the islands, it passed over an underwater ledge that some of the other boats were purposely sailing around. The ledge creates conditions where waves can grow to 30 feet in height, the suit says.

Low Speed Chase was flipped and tossed onto the island by waves, which dumped all but one crew member into the water.

Reached by phone this week, Bradford declined to discuss the suit, saying, "It's a private issue between me and the survivors."

"I almost lost my life too," he said, adding that his friends died. "It was horrible, even to survive."

Bradford said he has not faced criminal charges in connection with the crash.

While the US Sailing report focuses on the boat's course, it also says different life jackets could also have saved lives. Specifically, the report noted, higher buoyancy jackets that inflate automatically might have helped. The experts also said thigh straps to keep the jackets secure could have improved survival chances.

However, in the process of their investigation the experts learned that other racers didn't comply with minimum safety equipment standards.

"It is not clear whether these skippers were unaware of the requirements or simply ignored them," the report says.

In the suit, Busch's family doesn't list a dollar amount, but they're seeking compensation for funeral expenses as well as punitive damages, which are intended to punish bad behavior, from Bradford. Michael Kelly, an attorney for the Busch family, said that because no criminal action has been taken against the boat owner, the family wants to hold him accountable for an avoidable tragedy.

"It's become clear to them that this shouldn't have happened," he said in interview.